Startups

A Better Way to Find & Install Windows & Linux Apps

This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Every Thursday, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they're doing to grow.

In stark contrast to today's heavily-financed mega-startups such as Facebook, Groupon or Color, consider the unassuming and newly profitable Ninite, maker of a bulk software installation tool for Windows and Linux.

Ninite co-founders Patrick Swieskowski and Sascha Kuzins, the startup's only employees, run a lean operation out of a San Francisco-based office and have no interest in raising flashy amounts of venture capital. Instead, their focus is on being the easiest way for software geeks, regular folks, grandmas and even system administrators to get software.

"The most frequent feedback we get from users is, 'I love you,'" says Swieskowski.

The primary reason for the user-love is that Ninite gives them the ability to install dozens of applications with just a few clicks — it strips out all the tedious navigation and unnecessary dialogs usually involved in the software installation process.

"This is way software downloads should be," Swieskowski says.

Users seem to agree. One and half years post-release, Ninite's site now sees 2 million pageviews each month.

Second Time's the Charm

Ninite's origins date back to early 2008, when Swieskowski and Kuzins launched BaseShield, a virtualization project for Windows that would run applications in secure containers.

The original idea and product had enough merit to graduate from Y Combinator and help the co-founders raise a small angel round. But the general public wasn't responding with the same fervor. "It was hard to package that up and sell it to users," Swieskowski explains.

After nearly two years of work on the original product, the co-founders switched to Ninite. The first iteration of the so-simple-it's-stupid software installer was released at just the right time in October, 2009 — right before Microsoft released Windows 7.

"We saw a huge uptake from people. Within a week, we were getting posts on random technology blogs; within two weeks, we had 10,000 users in the beta."

And for good reason. The installer automates installs offscreen, always grabs the latest available version of apps, picks the most appropriate version and language edition for the user's PC, and auto-updates installed software upon re-run.

Accidental App Curators

As Ninite worked to simply the application installation process and give users a one-stop shop for picking and downloading great apps, its co-founders slowly became curators of the best Windows applications.

The Ninite site features dozens of hand-selected browsers, messaging, media-imaging and file-sharing applications, among other things; and Swieskowski and Kuzins go to great pains to ensure that there are no junk apps or scam installation add-ons.

The pair also solicit tips and requests from users, and Ninite has grown to become a powerful distribution mechanism for software titles.

Quiet Simplicity

"We believe in simplicity," reads Ninite's About page. The words epitomize both the product and its creators.

Simple has its perks. Ninite became profitable a few months ago, roughly one year after releasing a for-charge Pro product aimed at IT professionals and super users.

Now Swieskowski and Kuzins are looking to shed the perception that Ninite is merely something nice to use when setting up a machine and hope to turn the startup into a destination that users return to frequently for single-app downloads.

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

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